--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A humorous treatment of the rigid…" description: "\"“A humorous treatment of the rigid uniformitarian view came from Mark Twain. Although the shortening of the Mississippi River he referred to was the re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81f/mark-twain-22_evolution_a-humorous-treatment-of-the-rigid-unifor_1524428.png" --- # A humorous treatment of the rigid uniformitarian view came… ![“A humorous treatment of the rigid uniformitarian view came from Mark Twain. Although the shortening of the Mississippi River he referred to was the result of engineering projects eliminating many of the bends in the river, it is a thought-provoking spoof: The Mississippi between Cairo and New…” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81f/mark-twain-22_evolution_a-humorous-treatment-of-the-rigid-unifor_1524428.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81f/mark-twain-22_evolution_a-humorous-treatment-of-the-rigid-unifor_1524428.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81f/mark-twain-22_evolution_a-humorous-treatment-of-the-rigid-unifor_1524428.png) > ““A humorous treatment of the rigid uniformitarian view came from Mark Twain. Although the shortening of the Mississippi River he referred to was the result of engineering projects eliminating many of the bends in the river, it is a thought-provoking spoof: The Mississippi between Cairo and New Orleans was twelve hundred and fifteen miles long one hundred and seventy-six years ago. . . . Its length is only nine hundred and seventy-three miles at present. Now, if I wanted to be one of those ponderous scientific people, and “let on” to prove what had occurred in the remote past by what had occurred in a given time in the recent past . . . what an opportunity is here! Geology never had such a chance, nor such exact data to argue from! . . . In the space of one hundred and seventy-six years the Lower Mississippi has shortened itself two hundred and forty-two miles. That is an average of a trifle over one mile and a third per year. Therefore, any calm person, who is not blind or idiotic, can see that in the Old Oolitic Silurian Period, just a million years ago next November, the Lower Mississippi River was upwards of one million three hundred thousand miles long, and stuck out over the Gulf of Mexico like a fishing-rod. And by the same token any person can see that seven hundred and forty-two years from now the lower Mississippi will be only a mile and three-quarters long. . . . There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.”” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote satirically shows how misusing limited data can lead to absurd scientific conclusions about deep time. **In simple terms:** Misusing data leads to absurd conclusions. Key Takeaway Check data scope before drawing conclusions. Themes science humor misinterpretation geology logic Mood skeptical amused critical Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - academic debate - public lectures - media commentary Key Concepts extrapolation skepticism scientific method Questions to Reflect On - What limits should we set when extrapolating data? - How does humor reveal scientific flaws? A Different Perspective The argument ignores geological constraints and the impossibility of such length changes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Gulf of mexico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gulf-of-mexico/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Mississippi river](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mississippi-river/) [New orleans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-orleans/) [Uniformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uniformity/) ## Related quotes > [In the space of one hundred and seventy-six years the Mississippi has shortened itself two hundred and forty-two miles. Therefore, in the Old Silurian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-the-space-of-one-hundred-and-seventy-six-years-the-mississippi-has/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“I could see the cat was definitely on the steps. Still on the steps, 20 minutes after Carl's call. This was strange; Amy loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/i-could-see-the-cat-was-definitely-on-the-steps-still-on-the-steps-20/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [The Mississippi River carries the mud of thirty states and two provinces 2,000 miles south to the delta and deposits 500 million tons of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kuralt/the-mississippi-river-carries-the-mud-of-thirty-states-and-two/) [Charles Kuralt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kuralt/) > [The Mississippi River will always have its own way; no engineering skill can persuade it to do otherwise...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-mississippi-river-will-always-have-its-own-way-no-engineering/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-feel-mighty-free-and-easy-and-comfortable-on-a-raft/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“One who knows the Mississippi will promptly aver—not aloud, but to himself—that ten thousand River Commissions, with the mines of the world at their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/one-who-knows-the-mississippi-will-promptly-aver-not-aloud-but-to/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The Mississippi River towns are comely, clean, well built, and pleasing to the eye, and cheering to the spirit. The Mississippi Valley is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-mississippi-river-towns-are-comely-clean-well-built-and-pleasing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If I sit down to write a joke about, whatever, the polluted Gulf of Mexico, it comes out mundane to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-white/if-i-sit-down-to-write-a-joke-about-whatever-the-polluted-gulf-of/) [Ron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-white/) > [My parents moved to Florida when I was 12, and my backyard was the Gulf of Mexico.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/my-parents-moved-to-florida-when-i-was-12-and-my-backyard-was-the/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [Far away in Montana, hidden from view by clustering mountain-peaks, lies an unmapped northwestern corner- the Crown of the Continent. The water from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bird-grinnell/far-away-in-montana-hidden-from-view-by-clustering-mountain-peaks/) George Bird Grinnell > [Have you been following the big oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? Or as we call it now, the Dead Sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/have-you-been-following-the-big-oil-spill-in-the-gulf-of-mexico-or-as/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [The feminist movement has not made it to the Gulf of Mexico. Never seen that movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wilson/the-feminist-movement-has-not-made-it-to-the-gulf-of-mexico-never/) [Diane Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wilson/) > [What I try to communicate is that there's a lot of crossover between that feeling of romantic heartbreak and this devastating feeling of knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirah/what-i-try-to-communicate-is-that-there-s-a-lot-of-crossover-between/) [Mirah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirah/) > [The sudden release of five million barrels of oil, enormous quantities of methane and two million gallons of toxic dispersants into an already greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/the-sudden-release-of-five-million-barrels-of-oil-enormous-quantities/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [The media tries to destroy Republicans who make little faux pas and they start telling everybody how dumb and stupid or uncaring they are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-media-tries-to-destroy-republicans-who-make-little-faux-pas-and/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Evolution quotes > [I rap when I'm rich. I rap when I'm broke. I rap when I'm bullshit in the street. I rap about only having one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/i-rap-when-i-m-rich-i-rap-when-i-m-broke-i-rap-when-i-m-bullshit-in/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“A question for Christians who accept evolution: When did we gain a "soul"? Did Homo habilis have a soul? Homo ergaster? Did God only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/a-question-for-christians-who-accept-evolution-when-did-we-gain-a/) [David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/) > [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/) Giulio Natta > [“Genetics is a science full of gods, Mr. Sanchez.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sanchez/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Evolution happens in jumps, very rapidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/evolution-happens-in-jumps-very-rapidly/) [Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/) > [The true nature of soul is right knowledge, right faith and right conduct. The soul, so long as it is subject to transmigration, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virchand-gandhi/the-true-nature-of-soul-is-right-knowledge-right-faith-and-right/) [Virchand Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virchand-gandhi/) > [“Toshiaki learned that all living organisms were governed by their DNA. He was impressed by perfection of this system.Why did existence have the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hideaki-sena/toshiaki-learned-that-all-living-organisms-were-governed-by-their-dna/) Hideaki Sena > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [I'm all about evolution. I'm the first person to judge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/i-m-all-about-evolution-i-m-the-first-person-to-judge-myself/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [The next evolution of content marketing is not more content; it's better distribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-penn/the-next-evolution-of-content-marketing-is-not-more-content-it-s/) [Chris Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-penn/) [Browse all 6,185 Evolution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A humorous treatment of the rigid uniformitarian view came from Mark Twain. Although the shortening of the Mississippi River he referred to was the result of engineering projects eliminating many of the bends in the river, it is a thought-provoking spoof: The Mississippi between Cairo and New Orleans was twelve hundred and fifteen miles long one hundred and seventy-six years ago. . . . Its length is only nine hundred and seventy-three miles at present. Now, if I wanted to be one of those ponderous scientific people, and “let on” to prove what had occurred in the remote past by what had occurred in a given time in the recent past . . . what an opportunity is here! Geology never had such a chance, nor such exact data to argue from! . . . In the space of one hundred and seventy-six years the Lower Mississippi has shortened itself two hundred and forty-two miles. That is an average of a trifle over one mile and a third per year. Therefore, any calm person, who is not blind or idiotic, can see that in the Old Oolitic Silurian Period, just a million years ago next November, the Lower Mississippi River was upwards of one million three hundred thousand miles long, and stuck out over the Gulf of Mexico like a fishing-rod. And by the same token any person can see that seven hundred and forty-two years from now the lower Mississippi will be only a mile and three-quarters long. . . . There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-humorous-treatment-of-the-rigid-uniformitarian-view-came-from-mark/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evolution" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-humorous-treatment-of-the-rigid-uniformitarian-view-came-from-mark/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81f/mark-twain-22_evolution_a-humorous-treatment-of-the-rigid-unifor_1524428.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81f/mark-twain-22_evolution_a-humorous-treatment-of-the-rigid-unifor_1524428.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81f/mark-twain-22_evolution_a-humorous-treatment-of-the-rigid-unifor_1524428.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A humorous treatment of the rigid uniformitarian view came from Mark Twain. Although the shortening of the…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mark Twain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A humorous treatment of the rigid...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-humorous-treatment-of-the-rigid-uniformitarian-view-came-from-mark/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-humorous-treatment-of-the-rigid-uniformitarian-view-came-from-mark/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```